A steady, relentless 3000 ft climb over 3.6 mi to the summit. The trail is mostly forested until you make the ridge, about 100 ft (elevation) of the summit, then you get spectacular views of Rainier, Adams, St Helens, and the Goat Rocks. The summit is exposed with a few nearby trees. It also is a repeater site for the USFS. When I was there, it was HOT and really no where to get out of the sun.
On a recent trip to Riffe Lake, I had the opportunity to activate this summit.
On the way over to Bend, I stopped to activate Black Butte. I came on Hwy 20 and turned at NF-11 which is also the turn for Indian Ford Campground. From there I followed north to the turn for NF-1110 (also known as Black Butte Rd) and on around the north of the mountain. After a hairpin turn, there is one more sharp turn to the right which takes you to the upper trailhead. The road up to the last turn was in good shape as of this writing. The upper portion after the last turn was not as good but still very drivable.
This was my first summit on the day of the Central Oregon S2S party.
I had spent the night at the Pine Mountain Observatory Campgrounds which is FCFS so get there early. If it's full, there are dispersed locations but it's hard to find one in the pitch black dark. The observatory requires no headlights (only running lights) at the top so take that into account.
In the morning, I drove back down NF-2017 to the trailhead which also double as a cattle watering station.
This was my 3rd summit while over in Bend area for Central Oregon S2S party.
I had activated Pine Benchmark and Pine Mountain earlier in the day and I drove from there. I took NF-2017 from the Observatory down to the valley. However, that road is in very poor shape and high clearance is needed if you go that way. (If starting at the Observatory, travel time going back to Highway 30 to Road 23 is likely similar to taking rocky NF-2017 south).
Bill K7WXW is an early riser, and I was stoked to find someone keen to get up South Sister for a sunrise activation. We set out from the trailhead in the dark at 2:12am PST. Bill had an issue with his headlamp battery. Luckily, I had a spare headlamp to loan him. With that sorted, we hit the trail.
I did Page on my way back from Althouse and Tanner. I figured I had some time and it appeared to be a driveup. I also am in no hurry to come back to this charred land. Page wasn't as badly burned, it is basically the area they stopped the SLater Fire in 2020 from reaching into Cave Junction. The fire burned part of Happy Camp and everything inbetween.
Broken Top has been on my list for a few years. Trip reports vary in difficulty, so I finally had the chance to check it out solo.
From Green Lakes TH I hike / jogged (hogged?) to Green Lakes in about an hour. From there the trail cuts between the lakes and then steepens. The trail up the Northwest Ridge saddle is sandy and steep. I took a break in the saddle to refuel for the steep ridge climb.
My wife and I camped at Camp Misery TH and then I got up at About 7 to make the 3.23 mile walk to the summit. Starting elevation was about 5,700' and the summit is just over 7,500'. Great views at the top and I have never been to this summit when there was not goats. I counted between 10-12 different goats on the summit today.
I was camping at nearby Middle Thompson Lake and decided to get out for an activation. I was able to drive most of the way to the summit to the gate within 1 mile. There is a nice fire lookout at the top. The lookout was not manned while I was there. I approached off of the ACM Road South to National Forest Development Road 1045. Road was great all the way up to the parking area. I have been to this area many times and Road 1045 is known to have a locked gate at the bottom at times...this would make for a long walk or bike to the summit.